Welcome to Just Commodores, a site specifically designed for all people who share the same passion as yourself.

New Posts Contact us

Just Commodores Forum Community

It takes just a moment to join our fantastic community

Register

Squelching noise near drivers side fuse box.

88jaz88

New Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Newcastle NSW
Members Ride
'94 VR Holden Executive Wagon
As i accelerate in my vr wagon i hear this squelching noise down near the fuse box in the drivers side.
I am not sure if there is water in there from the air con or some liquid that is pressurised. May be coming from engine bay right in front of driver steering wheel. I am not sure about this.
Please help.
 

Jxfwsf

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
4,852
Reaction score
108
Points
48
Location
Aus
Members Ride
commodore
bit of a long shot.... does the engine go through coolant? when was it last checked? refill and bleed it properly (had a vn with an intake gasket leak, the squelching noise under acceleration was the reminder to refill the it) can't say i paid attention to where the noise came from exactly though.
 

88jaz88

New Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Newcastle NSW
Members Ride
'94 VR Holden Executive Wagon
Well the welsh plugs were done (2 months ago) which the coolant would just pour out and the water pump was done recently (2 weeks ago) so i am not sure if it has been a long enough time to know if it uses a lot of coolant. I do have a problem that may be a reason it is low on coolant is that i fill the over flow container with recommended coolant not water and after the next drive it is all gone. Dry as. I assume it all just goes into the cooling system.

How would i know if it using a lot of coolant?
Does it leak or evaporate in the system?
Thanks for your response.
 

Jxfwsf

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
4,852
Reaction score
108
Points
48
Location
Aus
Members Ride
commodore
If you're refilling it daily and there's no signs of it leaking externally around the engine or engine bay then it's a safe bet to say it's going through an abnormal amount, heater tap? heater core isn't leaking?

Instead of checking the coolant res bottle, what level is it when you remove the radiator cap? (obviously don't check this with a hot engine)

It could be an intake manifold gasket issue....... going by the previous issues and parts replaced it sounds like it hasn't always been looked after and maintained correctly.
 

88jaz88

New Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Newcastle NSW
Members Ride
'94 VR Holden Executive Wagon
Not sure if the heater tap is leaking.
I dont fill up the overflow container everyday. I did a few times untill it was obvious it disappears. Havent filled it up for a couple of weeks now and engine temp stays on a quarter.
Did get a fresh coolant refill when the water pump was done.
How do i check the level when i remove the radiator cap?
Thanks
 

Jxfwsf

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
4,852
Reaction score
108
Points
48
Location
Aus
Members Ride
commodore
The cooling system in the engine should (in theory) be a sealed environment, the coolant level should be up to the radiator cap with little to no air.

The res bottle is there to stop air getting into the system. The way it is designed to work with a certain pressure rating cap is that when the system heats up, the expanding coolant gets released into the res bottle.

When the system cools down after you finish driving the coolant contracts and creates a lower pressure inside the cooling system, the coolant in the reservoir bottle flows back into the system keeping air out of it.

If you are forever refilling this you should be looking for signs of coolant leaking anywhere and everywhere (if using proper coolant then it should be easy to spot any sign of green in and around all the pipes and fittings under the engine bay, corrosion around hoses fitting to pipes, split hoses, lose hose clamps, weeping seals on the radiator etc etc ), water does evaporate slowly, it's normal to have to top up the res bottle occasionally but you shouldn't have to be doing it on a daily/weekly basis, if there are no puddles under the car or you can't see any signs of external leakage then it's a good chance there's something internal going on, 95% of the time it's to do with the intake manifold gaskets, less likely but could be worse and be a head gasket but it's much easier and quicker to do the intake gaskets first and then keep an eye on the level afterwards to make sure it's stopped.





The engine i used in the original reply has been doing this for 4 years, every week or so when i was driving it all the time i'd have to top it up with 0.5-1 litre of fluid, i don't care to much about this engine as i have a fully rebuild donk ready to drop in. Purely for the hell of it i wondered how long this damn thing would last before it finally gave up...... If it was my daily driver and i needed a reliable car i wouldn't have been chancing it this long...... but the damn thing just keeps going...... not looking forward to finally stripping it down when i rip it out, gonna be pretty stuffed by that stage
 
Last edited:

88jaz88

New Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Newcastle NSW
Members Ride
'94 VR Holden Executive Wagon
Thanks for your detailed reply !

Is there any dangers in over filling the cooling system? If i do will it just spill out into the overflow res?
Thanks
 

Cheap6

New Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2005
Messages
2,498
Reaction score
74
Points
0
Members Ride
VP Exec
That's exactly what will happen; any excess will simply spill out of the overflow tube. The seal on the reservoir does have to be effective though or air rather than coolant will be sucked back into the engine side. (The tube that sits between the cap and towards the bottom of the reservoir tube acts like a drinking straw as the engine cools and the overflow is drawn back into the cooling system.)

How sure are you that the noise is from the RHS? Water in the box for the A/C can slosh back and forth. Might be worth checking the A/C drain tubes. The colour of the fluid (if any) that drains out of that will also tell you whether you're looking at a heater core or if it was just the A/C drain blocked.

Could there be water trapped in the bottom of the door or in the sill. They do have drain holes but it's possible that they are blocked with dirt. A wooden toothpick or skewer (so you don't scratch the paint) is good to clear them.
 

88jaz88

New Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Newcastle NSW
Members Ride
'94 VR Holden Executive Wagon
It doesnt sound like water sloshing around in the a/c box and i am 100% sure that there is no water in the door as the holes are completely free.

I am sure thats the sound is coming from the rhs as you hear it louder when you are driving as to sitting in the passenger seat you only hear it when heavy accelaration.

There is also a rattling sound coming from the foot well if this has anything to do with it. May be a fan with something in it that is if there is a fan down there.

Thanks
 
Top